Intel plans to sell its next generation of 65nm CPUs under the brand name 'Core 2 Duo' when they launch in summer, it has announced.

Next-generation chips named

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Intel plans to sell its next generation of 65nm (nanometre) CPUs under the brand name 'Core 2 Duo' when they launch in summer, it has announced.

Intel plans to launch a desktop chip code-named Conroe in July and a laptop chip code-named Merom in August.

"You could kind of say we're core crazy," said company spokesman Bill Kircos. "It's a way of saying 'Hey, this isn't your grandfather's PC.'"

Intel's next server chip, code-named Woodcrest, is not included in this plan, although the company plans to launch it in June, Kircos said.

All three chips will be built with Intel's 65nm Core Microarchitecture design. After their launch, Intel will have a common architecture for its consumer, gaming, notebook and business desktop lines.

Chip vendors such as Intel and AMD have designed their latest processors with multiple cores in each chip as an energy-efficient way to process more software code without increasing clock speed, heat and electricity. Just like cars, faster chips are generally less efficient.

Under Intel's new marketing plan, both the desktop and laptop chips will be called Core 2 Duo, and distinguished by a five-digit code to follow.

The first digit will be a letter indicating the power draw of the chip, ranging from U for ultra low voltage (below 15W) to L for low voltage (15W to 24W), T for standard mobile (25W to 55W), E for standard desktop (55W to 75W) and X for extreme (above 75W).

The next four digits will be a numeric code, with Conroe chips in the 4000 and 6000 series and Merom chips in the 5000 and 7000 series. Additional numbers will represent extra features such as the chips' suitability for Intel platforms. These could include Centrino for mobile PCs, Viiv for home entertainment or vPro for business desktops.

For example, a high-end desktop chip might be called the Core 2 Duo E6800. And Intel will call its high-end gaming desktop processor the Core 2 Extreme.

The name will supercede the Pentium D brand for desktops, and eventually take over for future chip designs such as four-core and eight-core processors, Kircos said.